Celebs’ smoking and selfies

The Oscars come and go in a whirlwind of flashing lights, sequin dresses, dapper suits and a-list celebs as far as the eye can see.

The newspapers and internet pore over every detail of the night – which designer was she wearing? Who was that lady on his arm?

Whether we like it or not, the majority of us want to know all these details and are eager to get every tidbit we can about celebs’ lives, otherwise why else would follow them on Twitter?

But we have a problem – celebs influence us, sub-consciously or not, and it isn’t always just a matter of wanting a dress we’ve seen them in while strutting down the red carpet.

World famous actress and Oscars regular Cameron Diaz quit her 20-a-day smoking habit because she feared she was setting a bad example for her fans.

Cameron Diaz gave up her 20-a-day habit

Rihanna is regularly seen smoking

Yet just this week on a chat show (whilst talking about her new healthy living book…) she said, “I think one cigarette once in a while is not going to kill you. Diet Coke is bad news. I’d rather just drink sugar. It’s better for you.”

It may be an off-the-cuff remark, regardless of whether it is true or not, but if she thought that her smoking was setting such a bad example in the first place, why would she say smoking is okay now?

Advertising works though, that’s the thing. Companies spend hundreds of millions of pounds each year hiring celebs to promote their products and yearn for the day one of them will do it for free.

Stars like Rihanna give free advertising to the tobacco industry on a daily basis when they walk around with a cigarette hanging out of the side of their mouths.

RiRi’s album artwork is plastered with images of her with plumes of cigarette smoke flowing out of her mouth. And you only need a quick look on Instagram to see hundreds of selfies of teenagers doing the same thing.

Celebs smoking is not a new thing by any means but celebs know they’re in the public eye but does this mean they should set a good example? Or should they be free to do what they want?